Piling system.



WITNESSES PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906. G. A. LE FEVRE.

FILING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET lv 1 VENTOR. l @2 ATTORNEY.

PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

G. A. LE FEVRE. FILING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2,

INVENTOR. 6(- 7 m ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. LE FEVRE, OF ORANGEBURG, NEW YORK.

FILING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1 906.

Application filed August 21, 1905. Serial No. 274,996.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LE Flame, of Orangeburg, in the county of Roekland and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Pilin System, of which the following is a full, 0 car, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in a piling system in which the apparatus comprises in part the pile itself and in part the means for driving or sinkin the pile.

My invention 1s intended to simplify the usual systems of pile-driving and also to provide a convenient and eflicient means for sinking concrete-cement or other piles, sheet piling, and caissons.

My invention is. particularly adapted to assist in sinking a concrete or cement iling, and in carryin my invention into e out I embody the we l-known principle that a jet of water easily displaces earth 1n its various forms, and I provide a means for forcing water under pressure from beneath the pile and also from numerous points along the side of the piling, caisson, or sheet piling as the said parts or structures are being sunk.

I am aware that a jet has been delivered below a ile, post, or similar thing to loosen the eartl l but this only partly accomplishes the desired result, as the pile as it is driven has a tremendous side resistance and the process of sinking it by ordinary means is very slow; but by (providing numerous jets along the submerge portion of the structure which is being sunk the whole skin of the structure is lubricated by the water jets and at the same time the adjacent earth or other material is displaced and the structure sinks rapidly to the desired position.

With these ends in view and with the object of otherwise improving piling systems and structures my invention consists of certain features of construction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding arts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side e evation, with the lower part in section, of a pile, showing my improvements. Fig. 2 is a broken view similar to Fig. 1, but with the plug in place in the lower end of the head or jacket. Fig. 3 is a cross-section throu h the head or jacket of the pile. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a modified form of pile and of the apparatus for sinking it. Fig. 5 is a cross-seetion through the body of the pile shown in Fig. 4. 'Flg. 6 is a longitudinal section of another modification of the pile and apparatus, showing a removable water-jacket. Fig. 7 is a cross-section on the lines 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a cross-section through the pile, showing another modified means of applying water-jets to its side. Fig. 9 is an elevation, partly in longitudinal section, of another modified form of the apparatus. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a section of a common form of sheet piling, showing my improved means for sinking it. Fig. 11 is a cross-section of the structure shown in Fig. 10, and Fig. 12'is a broken elevation of a modified form of the invention which is used for driven wells.

In Figs. 1 to 5 I show a pile having a generally solid body 10, of concrete or other cement, and at the lower end of this is applied, so as to be of the same cross-section, awaterjacket or head 11, having numerous jet-openings 12 on the sides and having a pointed lower end 13, through which centrally is a j etolpening 14, and the arrangement is such that t e head and the pile with it easily enter the earth. A water-pipe 15 extends downward through the body 10, this pipe being controlled by a valve 16, and, as shown in the first three figures, the pipe extends Without branches straight downward through the head or water-jacket 11. The area of the pipe 15 is considerably greater than that of the vent or discharge 14, and so when water is pumped through the pipe 15 under pressure it not only asses forcibly through the opening 14, but fi ls the water-j acket or head 11 and squirts out through the jet-openings 12. The result is that the earth is displaced on the bottom and sides of the pile, and so the latter sinks readily to place. When the pile is in position, a p ug 17 can be driven down through the pipe 15 so as to enter the opening 14 and prevent water from entering the pile, and the 'pe 15 and head 11 can then be filled with cement, so that, as stated, water will be kept out and the pipe 15 and web 18 willbe prevented from rusting. In this form of structure the water-jacket is preferably provided with longitudinal and radial ribs 9 to ive it the necessary strength.

11 Fig. 4 the pile 10 has the pipe 15 arranged as already stated and has a pointed lower end; but instead of the j et-openings 12 the pipe 15 has numerous branch pipes 15 arranged on different horizontal planes and terminating at the sides of the pile in jetopenings 1!). When water is forced under pressure, it passes downward through the pipe and out at the bottom of the pile and also through the pipe thus having the effect already described. In either form of pile that is, the form shown in Figs. 1 or 4, and, in fact, the several forms hereinafter referred to-the body has, preferably, a metallic core which strengthens the pile, and this can conveniently be shcct-metal webbing 18, and the Web can be perforated, if desired, so that the plastic material of the pile shall pass through it and lock the several parts together.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a head 11, substantially like the head 11 already referred to, being a water-jacket with jet-openings, only the head is shorter and comprises merely the pointed part. Above this is superposed a double-walled or water-jacketed casing 20,

which is divided by horizontal partitions 21 into a series of water-chambers, each having the jet-openings 12 like those already described. This structure has the metal pipe 15, as shown already, and a series of pipes 22, each pipe 22 delivering into a separate co1n partment or chamber of the casing 20, so that the water can be turned onto the chambers Where it is most neededthat is, where it is most essential to displace the adjacent earth. Obviously several sections of this casing 20 can be used, if desired. For convenience the several pipes 22 can be connected, together with the pipe 15, to a single head 23, to which water under pressure may be applied. With this form of structure the pile can be sunk by weighting it, or the casing can be filled with cement after it is in place, and when the pileis set the casing 20 can be hauled out by a suitable tackle, such as 24, the pile 10 and the head 1 1 being allowed to remain.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a pile 10, having jet-pipes 16 fastened around its periphery at several points, and from these the water issues so as to displace the earth and get practicallythe same effect as from the casing 20, already described.

Fig. 9 shows a structure similar to that in Fig. 6, except that a solid head 11 is used, and with this structure the concrete can be filled into the casing after the latter is sunk to a desired depth, and then by means of a ram 25 the concrete which has been permitted to rise up somewhat in the casing can be driven bodily downward out of the casing, carrying the head 1 1 with it, and on this concrete head thus sunk the remaining portion of the pile can be superposed.

Figs. 9 and 10 show how sheet-piling or caisson or coffer-dam structures can be sunk. A sheet piling can be conveniently made up of sections 27 and as many sections as desired interlocked, and these may be sunk by er ranging jet-pipes 26 on opposite sides of each section, so that thejet-pipes will displace the earth in the manner already specified.

In Fig. 12 I have shown a pipe 28, pointed at the lower end and provided with an open ing '14, the said pipe being also perforated at numerous )oints like the ordinary head of a driven well, so that water can percolate through it. In sinking this pipe water may be pumped into it under pressure, as in the examples given above, and the water will issue .in numerous jets, displacing the earth, as already described, so that the pipe sinks readily to the desired depth. When it is in place, the pump is of course detached, and the pipe serves the ordinary purposes of a driven well, the water in this case entering, as usual, through the perforated lower end.

It is obvious from the several modifications that I have described that others can doubtless be employed or that my jet-pipe system can be applied to sinking wooden or any form of piling.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination with a structure intended to be sunk below the surface of the earth, of means for discharging water-jets around the sides of the said structure.

2. The combination with a structure intended to be sunk below the surface of the earth, of means for discharging water-jets beneath and at the sides of the said structure.

3. The combination with a subsurface structure such as a pile, of a head at the lower end of the said structure, said head being in the form of a water-jacket and having jetopenings at the lower end and on the sides, and means for forcing water into the said head.

4. The combination with a pile or similar structure, of a casing inclosing the said structure and provided with jet-openings on the outer side.

5. The combination with a pile or similar structure,;of a casing inclosing the said structure and formed into a series of superposed watercompartments having jet-openings through the outer 'wall and means for forcing Water into the said compartments.

6. In an apparatus of the kind described,

the combination of a Walled casing forming a water-jacket and provided with jet-openings in its sides, of means for forcin water into the jacket, a detachable hea extendin downward from the casing or jacket, an means for forcing water downward through the head.

GEORGE A. LE FEVRE.

Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTcHINsoN, WILLIS A. BARNES. 

